Injury-Riddled Orioles Lose To Blue Jays 7-2

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BALTIMORE (AP) — The injuries and the losses keep piling up for the Baltimore Orioles.

Despite getting two solo home runs from Mark Reynolds, the Orioles didn’t do much else right in a 7-2 defeat against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Baltimore lost two of three to Toronto and has not won a series since taking two of three from Cincinnati on June 24-26.

The Orioles are 0-9-2 in that span.

First baseman Chris Davis and shortstop J.J. Hardy both missed a third straight game with injuries, and second baseman Cesar Izturis left in the fifth inning with a strained left groin. Davis (shoulder) and Hardy (ankle) hope to return Monday, but Baltimore’s disabled list includes pitchers Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta, second baseman Brian Roberts and left fielder Luke Scott.

Asked if it felt handicapped by a shortage of players, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, “I don’t look at it that way. We have good players and we try and take advantage of opportunities. Everybody’s got their issues, and nobody cares about yours.”

Reynolds fourth multihomer game of the season featured a blast that traveled an estimated 391 feet and a 450-footer that became the second home run in the 20-year history of Camden Yards to reach the second deck in left field.

“Those were some bombs, man,” said Toronto starter Ricky Romero, who gave up both homers. “The second one I didn’t even look at it.”

Unfortunately, the tape-measure shot did nothing to prevent another Baltimore defeat.

“If you can do it in batting practice, you can do it in the game, right?” Reynolds said. “He just threw me a low heater and I hit it pretty good. It’s just one run and we ended up losing, so it’s all for nothing.”

Reynolds leads the team with 26 homers and ranks second with 62 RBIs.

Romero pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and Brett Lawrie hit his first major league homer for the Blue Jays, who improved to 8-4 against the Orioles.

Romero (10-9) struck out five and walked none to win his third straight start, a streak that began on July 27 with a victory over Baltimore.

“He’s a good pitcher, period,” Showalter said. “You know exactly what he’s going to try to do. He just pounds the upper half and it opens up so many things.”

Romero threw 94 pitches, 69 of them strikes. He is 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his last eight starts against Baltimore.

“I enjoy pitching period, no matter who the opponent is,” Romero said. “Lately it’s been the consistency of throwing strikes and being in the zone and getting deep in games.”

Lawrie, who made his big league debut on Friday, hit a 2-1 pitch from Alfredo Simon (3-5) into the right-field bleachers to make it 6-1 in the sixth. In addition to the solo home run, the 21-year-old Canadian also singled and scored in the third inning.

During a memorable weekend series, Lawrie got his first major league hit, his first home run and hit .455.

“Now I know I can stick and I can play with these guys,” he said. “I knew I could before, but it’s just a question of me getting the opportunity.”

John McDonald had three hits and two RBIs for the Blue Jays, who have won seven of 11l.

Toronto broke on top with a pair of unearned runs in the third inning. After Lawrie hit a one-out single, Rajai Davis reached when Josh Bell failed to pick up his grounder to third. Lawrie moved up on a flyball, Davis stole second and both runners scored when Jose Bautista bounced an opposite-field double down the first-base line.

The Blue Jays made it 5-0 in the third. Edwin Encarnacion led off with a single and Colby Rasmus followed with the first of three straight doubles by Toronto. J.P. Arencibia drove in two runs with his liner to the gap in right-center and scored on McDonald’s second extra-base hit since June 17.

Reynolds connected in the fifth, and Lawrie chased Simon with his drive in the sixth.

Reynolds crushed the first pitch from Romero in the seventh. The only other home run to reach the second deck was hit by Rex Hudler in 1995.

McDonald made it 7-2 in the eighth with an RBI single off Brad Bergesen .

NOTES: Izturis was playing in only his third game since coming off the 60-day DL with an elbow injury. … RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-15) will start for the Orioles on Monday against the Chicago White Sox. He leads the major leagues in losses. … Blue Jays closer Jon Rauch (sore knee) was not available. With Toronto off on Monday, manager John Farrell wanted to give Rauch an extended rest. … Brett Cecil (4-4) takes the mound for Toronto on Tuesday against Oakland. Cecil is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last three starts. … Showalter said newcomer Jo-Jo Reyes would probably be the starter on Tuesday. Reyes, claimed on waivers from Toronto on Tuesday, has pitched in relief once for Baltimore.